Nick Charity

One of the men accused of murdering three people in a flat fire has admitted parking his car close to the scene of last June’s fatal blaze in Derbyshire.

But Peter Eyre told a jury that he had no idea they had started a fire as he sat in the car metres away - and only thought they were going to ‘smash it up’.

Amy Smith, Ruby-Grace Gaunt and Ed Green were all killed in the fire at 59a North Street, Langley Mill last June.

With the opening of the defence counsels’ case at Nottingham Crown Court today, Wednesday, January 27, the defendant faced questions from his own barrister, on what his intentions were the night Amy Smith, Ed Green and Ruby-Grace Gaunt were killed in the fire at North Street, Langley Mill.

"Had you any wish that anyone in that flat, whether they had been at your house or not, would be harmed in any way?"

"No," said Peter Eyre. "I thought they was going to go and smash the car up."

And Eyre, 44, claimed he could not see what was going on as he was parked on nearby Thompson Street.

He reportedly spent the day fulfilling normal every day activities, which he said included taking his son Simon’s girlfriend for hospital appointments, visiting his mother and restoring bikes to sell them on eBay at his house in Central Avenue, Sandiacre.

The court was told that Peter Eyre was unemployed and received benefits.

Peter Eyre and his son Simon have pleaded not guilty to triple murder and manslaughter. His other son Anthony has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.